Because if we're going to try and stop the misuse of our favorite comics and their protagonists by the companies that write and publish them, we've got to see what both the printed and online comics news is doing wrong. This blog focuses on both the good and the bad, the newspaper media and the online websites. Unabashedly. Unapologetically. Scanning the media for what's being done right and what's being done wrong.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Geoff Johns steps down from a position he didn't deserve

From what I can tell, he's still associating himself with Warner Brothers on DC-based screen projects. But as the Hollywood Reporter states, he's leaving the "chief creative officer" and management position he maintained, following the resignation of Diane Nelson from her own role as the head of DC Entertainment:

DC Entertainment president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns — who went from authoring comic books to having a major hand in the making of movies and television shows based on famous heroes — is stepping down from his executive post and entering into an exclusive writer-producer deal with Warner Bros. and DC, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Johns is launching Mad Ghost Productions, a new banner that will see him work on content for films, television and comic books, and have his hand in current DC properties as well as new and reimagined creations.

At the same time, current DC Entertainment publisher Jim Lee will assume the chief creative officer position, taking on the duties while continuing to act as publisher with Dan DiDio. The two have jointly held the post since 2010.

The moves come in the wake of last week’s exit of Diane Nelson, DC Entertainment’s president, to whom Johns reported, and occurs the day before a judge’s decision will be announced in the high-profile anti-trust trial between the U.S. Department of Justice and AT&T, which is seeking to merge with Time Warner, the parent company of both Warner Bros. and DC.

Neither Nelson nor Johns proved effective for the projects they worked on, like the 2011 Green Lantern movie or the recent Justice League film. Johns also has credits on at least a few of the TV shows that fell victim to social justice machine, like the latter end of the Smallville series from 2001-2011, and also the Flash and Supergirl series. In fact, look what he's got coming up as projects in film next:

One of Johns' first projects will be Green Lantern Corps, based on DC’s intergalactic police heroes which Johns is already very familiar with, having spent nine years writing Green Lantern comics and its spinoffs and publishing events. Johns will write the screenplay and act as one of the producers on the feature film. Johns is already writing and producing Wonder Woman 2 and will have a co-writing and executive producing credit on Aquaman, this year's only DC offering that opens in December.

After the failure of the 2011 GL movie (and even the Jonah Hex movie), it's a real laugh riot to discover he's allowed to continue associating with a franchise I don't think he really loves.

I'm so glad that he's leaving his leadership position. He's been terrible for DC, especially DC Films—I blame much of the failure of "Justice League" on his interference. Not happy that he's still writing for WB's DC properties. WB needs to cut ties with him completely.

Now that's a sentiment I can get behind. Overrated is probably the best starting description for Johns, whose writing style was filled with disturbing violence, and the most blatant political stunt he pulled in his comics writing career had to be in Green Lantern when he introduced the Muslim cast member Simon Baz in 2012, whose story setup was blatantly leftist and apologist for Islam. Even when he wrote a few books for Marvel in the early 2000s, there were a few times he went overboard, recalling I once discovered a few disturbing panels from Avengers #71 from 2003, where Whirlwind sexually assaulted Wasp by licking her. At its worst, his writing disrespected the visions of past writers and drained entertainment value from the books he touched considerably. Of course, the editors obviously have to shoulder some blame to boot, for not standing up to him and drawing a fine line in the sand.

Johns may have left his positions as a company president and creative supervisor. But he needs to be distanced from the company entirely after the bleak mark he left on their records, and again, lest we forget, Dan DiDio's departure is also long overdue.

About me

I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.